Credit: Canadian Longitudinal Study of Aging
In 2021, the Government of Canada announced an investment of $9.6M for the infrastructure needed to renew and extend the Canadian Longitudinal Study on Aging (CLSA). The over-arching goal of the CLSA is to generate knowledge that promotes the health and well-being of older adults and informs the development of programs and policies for Canada’s aging population. Just over 50,000 Canadians, who were between 45 and 85 years of age at the time of recruitment, are being followed for 20 years, with data collected from each individual every three years until 2033 or their death.
Using data from the CLSA participants, researchers examined associations between self-reported hearing and vision abilities, as well as various social factors such as social network size, availability of social support, social participation and loneliness. They also examined the prevalence of hearing and vision loss in older Canadians, as well as an analysis showing how demographic and social factors help to explain discrepancies between self-reported hearing ability and hearing measured using pure-tone audiometry.
Past, present and future research using CLSA data will enable us to answer a wide range of population and public health questions concerning the causes and consequences of age-related changes in hearing loss in older Canadians.
Learn more about the CLSA on SAC’s Communiqué Blog.
Webcast from SAC’s Audiology Event 2021 – Working with Older Adults with Hearing and Cognitive Difficulties
As part of SAC’s 2021 Audiology Event Webinar Series, two SAC members discussed what their 70 years (combined!) of clinical practice has taught them about working with older adults with hearing and cognitive difficulties.
This webcast provides an overview of the challenges faced by clinical audiologists when working with older clients who may also be experiencing cognitive changes due to aging or age-related neurological conditions like dementia and how cognitive screening may help to inform best practice for assessment and management of older adults with cognitive loss.
